Tebbs Head Shop owner sentencing today

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) >> A 34-year-old upstate New York man who owned a 12-store chain of head shops, including one in Oneida and one in Rome, faces sentencing for possessing and intending to sell illegal synthetic drugs through his stores.

John Tebbetts faces up to nine years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Sentencing is scheduled for today in federal court in Syracuse.

Tebbetts pleaded guilty in December 2012 to six felony charges of possessing synthetic drugs that were chemically similar to a controlled substance, and money laundering. His chain of Tebbs Smokeshops in New York and Maine was taken down that year by a nationwide crackdown on synthetic drugs.

Tebbetts also faces separate charges from New York state for failing to pay his taxes and violating state labeling laws.